Dubai: Pets should be treated as part of the family, not property, animal welfare advocates said in light of increasing cases of pets being abandoned.
The cases tend to spike in summer as expatriate families prepare leave the country on holiday.
Lamees Y.S., a Jordanian animal rescuer, recently helped three dogs that were “surrendered” by an old lady who was leaving the country. The three dogs, a 15-year-old desert dog, a 13-year-old Pekingese, and an eight-year-old Chihuahua, were all in bad shape and would have died had they not been brought to a shelter.
“Lucky, the desert dog, has lost 80 per cent of her sight. They were all infested with ticks. They had skin problems, and had lost a lot of hair all that happened because they were kept outdoors all the time in the heat,” Lamees told Gulf News.
“They were all underweight. They had horrible teeth. The vet was surprised they could still eat.”
Lamees said the old lady admitted that she never tried to contact animal rescue shelters to rehouse them because “she had no time” as her flight was the next day.
“People leave them behind when they move or transfer to another accommodation or go back to their home country. They arrange to move their furniture, their clothes, but they leave a living soul behind. There is no humanity in those people any more,” said Lamees, who has rescued and rehoused about 60 cats and dogs on her own over the last three years.
Lamees has sought the help of friends to try to rehouse the dogs with responsible families who would treat them as if they were their own. But these three dogs are just a few of the many cases she and other animal rescuers handle each year. The cases peak during summer when many families leave for vacation.
The problem boils down to people’s perception, Daad Nassif, founder of Wags and Purrs, said.
“People still consider pets as property and not as family members. We are never owners, we are guardians. This pet is our responsibility. We have to own up to it,” Nassif said.
Nassif said people give “millions of excuses” whenever they surrender their pets. People travelling and the cost of transporting pets top the list, while behavioural or physical considerations — like when the pet is already old — are among the other reasons.
Nassif said the recent increase in fees for export papers for pets is also another consideration. The Ministry of Environment and Water in April increased the fee to Dh400 per pet from just Dh100. This does not include other expenses such as plane fare and check-up, among others.
But this is not an excuse, Nassif said. “Before they adopt, they should do their homework. They should set aside at least Dh50 every month in preparation for when they want to leave.”
Jackie Covill, founder of Sandy Paws-UAE, said the situation has worsened because those with pets know they can put their pets up for adoption anyway.
“It’s not any rehousing organisation’s fault. People promise they’ll take care of them but they lie to us. They have no moral responsibility,” Covill, who has rescued and rehoused 500 cats and dogs in six years, said.
“This is the worst year I’ve ever seen in six years.”
